In the 21st Century people in the Western World are far more sensitive to sexual innuendo and harassment than 30 or 40 years ago. Take a look at the early Bond movies and you will see what would be today construed as sexual harassment. The films where Pierce Brosnan played James Bond show Miss Moneypenny as being a far different character. The last two films don’t feature the relationship between Bond and Moneypenny at all.

All offices have a certain amount of banter and that is good, and only to be expected when there are friends working together. The problem comes when the banter becomes innuendo or overtly sexual. This can be the case when a woman comes into a workplace that previously had been an all-male preserve, or equally where a man comes into an all-female office or shop. The existing relationships and the banter that come out of them can easily be sexual until the rest of the employees are shown that they should consider what they are saying and why.

In many ways today’s alternate lifestyles add to the mix. Employing a heterosexual male to work with a group of homosexual males or a heterosexual female in a workplace of mainly Lesbian females creates friction and the attitude where one must change the other. In some places friction helps people to understand one another, but where the individual is strong in their resolution it can result in some relationship issues.

Where does Sexual Harassment start and end? There are three distinct areas of sexual harassment that need to be addressed in the workplace.

• Sexual Conduct. An employer who makes direct sexual approaches to an employee. Often this happens away from the employee’s work space near the photocopier or drinks machine or in an area away from other employees.
• Quid pro quo seems an odd term it simply means an employer offering the employee advancement in return for sexual favors. In the short term that may seem attractive but in the long term it is unhelpful and demeaning.
• Hostile work environment. An employer is responsible for the work environment. It may seem acceptable when out with the boys to make suggestive remarks and your friends may applaud it, but in a work environment it is unhelpful and inappropriate. For an employer to accept and condone sexually-charged banter in the workplace can render them liable to court action.

The bottom line is that for sexual conduct, quid pro quo or a hostile work environment the company renders itself liable for damages for sexual harassment. A company needs to review its own employee contracts, and “At Will” statement, to make sure this is understood by all. A manager or supervisor needs to make sure when a new employee starts there is no unnecessary sexual banter or actions. We live in a world where sexuality is flaunted but when it is forced on someone the result can be a sexual harassment lawsuit.